Episode

Did social media break a generation — or just change it?

Podcast: TED Radio Hour
Published: Feb 20, 2026
Duration seconds: 2976
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Canonical source: https://www.npr.org/2026/02/20/nx-s1-5719349/did-social-media-break-a-generation-or-just-change-it
Audio: https://prfx.byspotify.com/e/play.podtrac.com/npr-510298/npr.simplecastaudio.com/e19460b8-b905-4bd2-9062-cea3c0ab9405/episodes/c568cb74-6b81-4f74-b9e0-e0b855a019cf/audio/128/default.mp3?awCollectionId=e19460b8-b905-4bd2-9062-cea3c0ab9405&awEpisodeId=c568cb74-6b81-4f74-b9e0-e0b855a019cf&t=podcast&e=nx-s1-5719349&p=510298&d=2976&size=47629837
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Summary

Is tech rewiring childhood or exposing what’s already broken? Jonathan Haidt, Catherine Price, and a Gen Z advocate debate social media bans, attention and what “fun” looks like off-screen. Guests include social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, youth online safety activist Maximilian Milovidov and author Catherine Price. TED Radio Hour+ subscribers now get access to bonus episodes, with more ideas from TED speakers and a behind the scenes look with our producers. A Plus subscription also lets you listen to regular episodes (like this one!) without sponsors. Sign-up at plus.npr.org/ted . See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy